Sri Lanka Navy Ship Ranadheera attached to the Northern Naval Command on routine patrol intercepted a fibre glass dinghy smuggling approximately 45 kilograms of gold in the seas 25 nautical miles West of Mathagal on October 1, 2014.
Two persons manning the boat were also taken into naval custody during the interception made around 0730 pm.
It is suspected that the gold, found neatly packed inside a plastic can which had been concealed under the fishing nets, was being smuggled into India. This is the largest ever gold haul detected by the Navy.
The arrested persons along with the contraband are to be handed over to the Customs officials after the preliminary investigations.
[mappress mapid=”13935″] Press Release, October 02, 2014; Image: Sri Lanka Navy